The details. Pattern is Color Craving from Westknits. Yarn is Dyeabolical’s Super Ego BFL base, Colorways Howl at the Moon, Shifter, and Timber Wolf. It took a week and a half to complete, and I didn’t completely quit my life to do so!

The yarn was really wonderful to work with, and I am sure that’s part of why I was able to complete it so quickly. I mean, garter stitch in a yarn that doesn’t split and totally knits up nicely? Easy peasy.

It’s been awhile since I’ve worked on a marathon knitting project, and as such, I really enjoyed this. I don’t think it’s a pattern I’d go out of my way to knit again, mostly because the severe turns where the large yarn over holes are were very irritating to work around. However, the finished object is quite interesting, and I did really enjoy those long garter wedges around the outside of the two color section.

I had to get a bit creative once I was finished to make the cast on look good. In the instructions, it said something about not using a slip knot when casting on. I totally ignored that. As soon as I got through a couple large yarnover holes I could see why, it left an ugly knot in the middle of the cast on edge. So, I used a scrap piece of yarn, threading it through the stitch moving back from the cast on edge, pulled the cast on yarn out, undid the knot, made it look like the rest of the yarn over holes, and threaded it back through, removing the waste yarn. Worked like a charm, and now everything looks exactly as it should!

Now I can finally finish tibetan clouds! And, then I’ve got a fun project for Miss Marja out of her yarn scheduled. I can’t wait!

Lizzie headed in to the vet on Thursday evening, that was a success. She was very good and not at all nervous. We were told she needs to lose 5-7 pounds! Which seems like a lot. But, we were given tips how to keep her feeling full during the process and also instructed to not allow her to lose more than half a pound a month. So, this process is a bit of a long game. Still, every day she wants to play more, and is busier than the day before. This weekend we are hoping to get her to the dog park. Mr. Ink is so happy she’s a playful dog that almost every day a new toy comes home with him. She’s oddly skeptical of new toys, but she also has a tendency to destroy toys too, so she has to get used to the next. We are really having SO MUCH fun with her!

Last evening, Miss Butterfly said “I learned how to make soft pretzels at school, can I make soft pretzels? And so, while Mr. Ink and I took Lizzie on a long walk, she made soft pretzels all by herself. And, if your kid makes soft pretzels all by herself, you cease to care about low carb diets and you eat them. Mine was a bit over salted, but also quite delicious! I need to get her some proper pretzel salt for the future.

And, one last thing. I am kind of into spiders, in general. I think they are fascinating, and I love how they are useful, how they keep irritating bug populations at bay. My absolute favorite is the Argiope aurantia, the black and yellow garden spider. I even have one tattooed on my arm. But, the don’t frequent the city. Out here they are called corn spiders, farmers see them regularly in their corn fields. I’ve never seen one in my yard. Until last night, when Mr. Ink came tearing in the house to tell me he’d found one, right in our spirea!

I’ll need to get a better photo. But she’s a perfect specimen, look at that web, great stabilimenta!

In my attempt to get a photo, I disturbed her and she went to hide so we left her area so she could go back to the business of freeing our yarn of pests. (They catch mud dauber wasps!) But truly, we have the best yard. It’s so exciting!

That’s about it from here! Have a happy weekend friends!